Views of a local who has been in the hospitality side of the wine biz full- or part-time for over 20 years. Maybe more importantly, an avid consumer of the local wines for over 30 years. Mostly general comments on the California wine business because that's what I know.
Sometimes there's nothing like a good Sonoma Whine! If you don't take my comments too seriously then neither will I. After all, it's only wine.

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Friday, June 10, 2016

Best Tours for Your Summer Vacation

Sonoma County and the rest of wine country is known for wine touring. You can drive yourself around or hire a car or bus. There are various wine trails. There's a Sonoma Valley Wine Trail that offers a trail pass (one price to visit all member tasting rooms). What do other states offer in comparison?

The North Carolina BBQ Society has a BBQ Trail. There are about two dozen members across the state. They call them "historic pits." I don't care what you call 'em I wanna go. Texas also has a BBQ trail centered around San Antonio and Austin. If you like beef brisket (and who doesn't) this should be on the list, too.

Ride a bike? No thanks

Kentucky has a bourbon trail that offers a trail pass. If you get to all nine you get a free t-shirt (and maybe a get out of jail free card). This would also be a good time, but I'm not going to attempt all nine in one day.

There's an Ohio Donut Trail in Butler County. No, I'm not sure why either. They invite "donut connoisseurs to experience Butler County via locally produced donuts—something the county prides itself in." That's fine and all, but I have one of the best doughnut shops two blocks from home so I'll skip the trip to suburban Cincinnati.

There are multiple chocolate trails in the country and why not? Santa Fe, Brooklyn, Indiana, Connecticut, New Hampshire, etc. Heck, Hong Kong has one. I see nothing wrong with checking out one or two of these. New Hampshire's is a wine, cheese and chocolate trail. Their motto is Live Free and Savor. I'm sure their cheeses and chocolates are just fine, not sure about the wines.

In Louisiana they don't mention cholesterol

There are, of course, lots of food trails. In fact, USA Today, where I get all my food news from (not), had a contest to find the best. Their winner was the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail in New Mexico (no, really). There are 64 restaurants on the list -- not surprising as NM puts green chiles on everything. It's the only place I know of where they prepare green chile stew instead of chicken noodle soup for sick family members. Others spots on the list, that actually sound good, are the Mississippi Gulf Seafood Trail, the Cajun Boudin Trail in Louisiana, and the Vermont Brewery Trail. Some on the list that I will skip are Indiana's Hoosier Pie Trail and South Carolina's Sweet Tea Trail. Nope, those are not worth the trip.

Several states have beer trails. It's no surprise that Vermont, Oregon and Colorado are on the list, but even Delaware and Montana are there. Sonoma County's tourism folks have put together a beer trail itinerary for you in case you're in the neighborhood. Sonoma County doesn't really need a marked wine trail as there are 425 wineries in the county at last count. Not sure how many of these have tasting rooms, but there are enough!